Civil-Political Society Platform on constitutional reform
Since the implementation of the power-sharing deal, EPD has focused on supporting the interface between the new inclusive government and civil society. Strengthening the interface between politicians and civil society is a niche for the EPD work, matching its constituent organisations. The power-sharing deal is far from perfect, but provides an opportunity once more to reform the ‘Lancaster House' constitution which has been in place since independence from the UK in 1980 and which now has been amended 18 times, mainly for the purpose of extending executive powers.
There are now fears that the consultation process for a new constitution will be both rushed and politicized and will fail to engage the Zimbabwean public in a substantive manner. This would threaten the people-driven nature of the process, as stipulated in the GPA, which acknowledges the fundamental right and duty of the Zimbabwean people to make a new constitution by and for themselves. In short, the process, of making this constitution must be owned and driven by the Zimbabwean people an must be inclusive and democratic.
The EPD focuses with a group of Zimbabwean NGOs on meeting the urgent need to supply impartial information to the Zimbabwean People about the constitutional process to ensure their meaningful participation, and allow them to make their own choices to be reflected in the new constitution. The current economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe is the direct result of over a decade of increasingly authoritarian governance, which affected the lives of Zimbabwean on a daily basis. Zimbabweans are generally very engaged with an well informed about the ongoing political transition. EPD and its partners work to further empower the Zimbabwean public in expressing their own needs and making their own choices by strengthening civil society coordination of activities in support of the constitutional reform process. EPD aims to achieve:
- Sufficient civic education meetings across Zimbabwe and materials to inform Zimbabweans, so that they can participate meaningfully in the constitutional reform process
- Strengthened synergies between the parliament-led process and the people's input to the process
- Efficient advocacy strategies to mobilize Zimbabwean citizens to participate
- Enrichment of the quality of debate adds well as the contents of the constitutional reforms process by sharing international best practices and providing a safe platform to discuss contentious issues
While Zimbabwean partners are already working to achieve these results, they face a number of challenges. One of these challenges is the prevailing funding environment. Most Zimbabwean organizations recognize that the global financial and economic crisis has led to diminished funding levels. This makes it important for Zimbabwean organizations to coordinate their activities closely and avoid duplication of efforts. Another challenge is that, despite the fact that these organizations are making attempts to coordinate their activities, more can be done to ensure that consistent messages are delivered to the Zimbabwean public. By investing in effective coordination, EPD will ensure that scarce funds are utilized as efficiently as possible.
By signing the GPA, the leaders of the rival political parties showed they were mindful of the need to ensure that the new constitution deepens Zimbabwe's democratic values, principles and the protection of equality of all citizens. The Inclusive Government, however, is faced with a severe lack of resources and technical capacities to implement the goals outlined in the GPA, as is the Parliament of Zimbabwe. The Ministry of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, charged with the facilitation of the constitutional process, is keenly aware that the participation of the Zimbabwean people is essential for restoring the legitimate governance in Zimbabwe, but lacks the means to facilitate meetings and disseminate sufficient information to include the public throughout the country.
With both MDC and ZANU-PF in the Inclusive Government, Zimbabwe has lost a political opposition in parliament performing the democratic oversight role. Civil society can play a key role in informing the Zimbabwean public about the process to ensure the can engage with the government/parliament's constitutional interlocutors. With so much power concentrated in the all-party government, the EPD focuses on strengthening civil society organizations in redefining their roles as a countervailing power in the country.
At the same time Politicians are the actors who need to a find a peaceful resolution to overcome the conflict and restore the conditions for democratic governance in Zimbabwe. For this reason EPD will systematically seek to support meetings between the political actors on the one hand and civil society on the other, with a view to working to a democratic and peaceful Zimbabwe.